There are presently available several processes and machines for producing clear ice which is made from potable water. These ice products are desirable for commercial use such as restaurants, bars and the like, since the consumer prefers a clear ice product and is generally accustomed to such a cube. Furthermore, clear ice has less aftertaste then non-clear ice. Other uses for a clear ice product include the field of ice sculpturing. The demand for ice sculptures is quite large, since such items are commonly used at weddings and other celebrations. Furthermore, numerous entertainment establishments use ice sculptures as centers of attraction and to provide a somewhat unique atmosphere. However, providing large blocks of clear ice, which is aesthetically preferable, is very difficult, requiring agitation during freezing of blocks generally weighing three hundred pounds or more.
The primary approach for the production of clear ice products centers around the concept of agitating the water during freezing. This concept is expounded upon in my copending patent application Ser. No. 318,843 filed 03/06/89 the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference into this application. The difficulty sought to be overcome by that application was the lack of any suitable system for forming clear ice in large preformed containers. Other inventions created clear ice by directing air against the top surface of the liquid being frozen, or by circulating the water through tubes during the freezing process, thus creating clear ice cylinders which were directed through a revolving cutter to form cubes. Other methods include spraying ice onto a freezer plate and rotating water containers during freezing.
All of these methods require extremely large freezing containers in which the ice making process can be conducted. This is due to the fact that the water agitation must take place within the freezing compartment. The cost of this process is understandably very high and the shapes of the clear ice being formed are limited by the constraints of the process and the machinery being used. Also, in order to freeze the water during the agitation process, it is necessary to expand a significant amount of energy to provide sufficient refrigeration to freeze the products within a short enough period of time to allow the machine to have sufficient production. Once the ice is formed it is placed in a holding bin, which generally holds over two hundred tons of ice. However, this ice cannot be allowed to congeal, and therefore expensive mixers or driers must be used to keep the ice from forming blocks, which could not be used for consumer bagged ice.
Furthermore, there was no process available for freezing clear ice sculptures in a presculptured form. Such sculptures are understandably very large and therefore not adaptable for freezing by prior clear processes. With my prior application heretofore referenced, one could design a container to reflect the desired end product ice sculpture, but the amount of energy required to freeze such an item during agitation of the water was quite significant. Thus, I decided that it would be extremely advantageous if one could take a contained water product and freeze it in a conventional freezer and still obtain a clear ice product. This would enable the user to obtain an inexpensive clear ice product since one could freeze large quantities of water in commercial freezers which are well insulated and therefore use a minimal amount of energy as compared to the ice making machines presently available.
In addition, ice products for consumer use are sold in bags of four to ten pounds each. These bags contain commercial ice, but suffer the problem that they often congeal, forming ice blocks which must be broken prior to use, a job more easily accomplished with an ice pick rather than the ice cube tongs that are generally available. Of course impacting the bag to break the ice is often effective, however, it often ruptures the bag with resultant leaking as the ice melts.
Another problem with the present ice bag is storage. When packing food for a trip, picnic, camping or the like, it is advantageous to use the newly purchased bag of ice in the food chest. However, these bags of ice are not suitable for packing with food, because they are not adaptable for surrounding a food product, nor are they appropriate for providing a smooth ice pack to be over the food. One can, of course, empty the ice into the cooler, however, this causes the food to become wet, and also contaminates the ice itself, making it less desirable for later consumer use.